NOHS Contest – A Special New Attraction

By Barbara E. Beynon

I live in Corpus Christi, Texas, which is not at the end of the world but you can see it from here out over the Gulf of Mexico. You likely will never find yourself traveling through my beautiful city on your way someplace else. But those who come to our dog shows love our show grounds, weather, and friendly people- so it is definitely worth the trip!

The Corpus Christi Kennel Club is the southernmost AKC club in Texas. In 2015 we petitioned the AKC to declare our club “geographically isolated”, which they did. Now we are allowed to hold up to four shows per year. Our average entries gradually increased from 380 in 2015, the last year that we held a two-show cluster, to about 550 in 2019. CCKC is a small club with limited resources, and we must navigate the nuances of hosting shows within the constraints of a limited budget.

On a personal note, I am a breeder-owner-exhibitor of American Eskimo Dogs; an AKC-approved judge; and serve as all-breed Show Chair. As an owner-handler, I understand the concerns many owner-handlers have regarding competing against professional handlers and dogs who are in the ring every weekend.

I also have friends in the horse show world, where they face many of the same problems. Some horse shows offer competitions for owners who do not earn their living from training horses, rather like the AKC’s NOHS program. But the horse show people offer cash prizes to those owners based on placements over several days of shows, which AKC shows do not. I thought that perhaps the dog show world could take a page from the horse show book and create something similar.

After our 2018 shows, I approached my club with a Special Attraction idea which I named the “Lone Star NOHS Contest”. Any dog which meets AKC’s eligibility requirements for NOHS and is entered in the NOHS for any or all shows during the CCKC cluster is automatically eligible. No extra entry fee is required, which is great for exhibitors.

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Posted by Alex on Mar 5 2019. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.